Why do C++ streams use char instead of unsigned char?
- by Johannes Schaub - litb
I've always wondered why the C++ Standard library has instantiated basic_[io]stream and all its variants using the char type instead of the unsigned char type. char means (depending on whether it is signed or not) you can have overflow and underflow for operations like get(), which will lead to implementation-defined value of the variables involved. Another example is when you want to output a byte, unformatted, to an ostream using its put function.
Any ideas?
Note: I'm still not really convinced. So if you know the definitive answer, you can still post it indeed.
